


The Sun's Sorrow

by Duganator01



Series: RWBY Oneshots [11]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Hurt, Jaune I'm sorry, Like literally only hurt, Most of the cast is just mentioned, Serious Injuries, arkos, no comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:02:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28076661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duganator01/pseuds/Duganator01
Summary: When the Fates cut a string, that person’s life is meant to end right away. But there are special cases. And Pyrrha’s string is shorter than most, measured out to one length since the day of her birth. She knew this and she was more prepared than most for when her time would come, and for the time she had she would burn as bright as the sun.Although not everyone would cope with her absence quite as well, one life’s flame is often enough to ignite another’s.(Or: The PJO AU that literally nobody wanted or asked for)
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Pyrrha Nikos & Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc & Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos
Series: RWBY Oneshots [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558006
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	The Sun's Sorrow

**Author's Note:**

> You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
> You make me happy when skies are gray  
> You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
> Please don't take my sunshine away

Battles raged up and down the streets of Manhattan. 

As he ran, Jaune passed Yang and the remaining members of the Ares cabin taking on a squadron of Lastragonians. His blonde haired friend had long since abandoned the shield her adoptive sister had begged her to use and was clocking demons in the face with her celestial bronze knuckles. One giant took a hit to the jaw, to match the cut across Yang’s cheek, but that was all Jaune could see before he sprinted past. 

He ducked on instinct at the yelled command of Qrow Branwen, and a volley of Hunters arrows streaked across the street brushing close enough to ruffle Jaune’s hair. The front line of a horde of hellhounds fell, and he had barely enough time to hear Qrow call for another volley before they too were passed by. 

The sounds of more battles echoed through the sleeping streets, in a mockery of the sound of the normally bustling city. Nora called a strike of lightning down on some giant blue… giant down one alley. Sun and Neptune fought back to back down another against a whole troupe of enemy demigods. 

A flurry of petals shot past him and materialized into Ren and Ruby, the girl already swinging her scythe to launch Ren up into the air to fight some kind of flying pig. Another street down Weiss barked orders while simultaneously taking down a monster with every expertly placed blow as she and the rest of the Athena cabin took on a phalanx of  _ dracanae.  _

Jaune had no time for any of them, because just up ahead the person he was chasing was already out of sight. 

They’d received word that Cinder- Kronos was advancing on Central Park. Flanked by a million bajillion monsters of course, but what did that matter? The King of the Titans was here, and they were in no way prepared. 

Well most of them weren’t. 

Red hair and a sash to match sprinted away from their little war council before any of them could stop her. 

A chance to stop Kronos before the battle even began? A chance to fulfill the prophecy before the burden of the world fell to Ruby. To fulfill the destiny that the Fates had brought her back for. How could she not? This was what she was made to do. 

Jaune had seen it written across her face as clear as day, and his dad was the god of daylight so he knew what he was talking about. He should have known what she was going to do, he should’ve  _ stopped her- _

He’d never be able to catch up in time. Even if Pyrrha wasn’t one of the fastest people at camp, Jaune was definitely one of the clumsiest. 

Why couldn’t he have inherited his dad’s speed? Nope just blonde hair, a sunny disposition, and crushing abandonment issues. No special powers for Jauney, whoop-de-fucking-doo. 

He turned a corner, and arrived on a scene of destruction straight out of an action movie. Or a nightmare. Or a nightmare that he had after watching too many action movies

It was a warzone. It looked like the rest of the Camp demigods had heard the news and also converged onto the park. On the right flank, Sun was leading an assault with the rest of their siblings. On the left, Blake raised her sword into the air and together she and the other satyrs and nature spirits charged in to face Adam and his faction. 

Ruby was fighting scythe against sword with a flame bright Titan out on the surface of the lake. His friend was barely half the height of the Titan, and she was only holding her own against the laughing man by shadow stepping behind him every other second.

Pyrrha was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, neither was Kronos, because they were already getting thrashed as it was.

There was too much blood everywhere to pick out her hair or sash. Bronze gleamed on the chests of campers and enemies alike, blurring into one big shiny mess. He ran through the throng of fighting, squeezing past giants legs, helping where he could with his shield blocking a strike or two. But mostly he was screaming for Pyrrha over the sounds of the battle.

And then he found her. Crumpled at the base of a maple tree just outside of the line of battle, almost looking asleep like the rest of the mortals. Jaune was almost relieved until he slid to his knees by her side and she didn’t open her eyes immediately.

“Pyrrha! Thank the gods,” he yelled, pulling her up and holding her tight against him. She barely resisted, just chuckled softly. “I was so worried, don’t  _ do _ that!” he reprimanded, pulling away and examining her closely

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” she promised, smiling weakly up at him. With eyes as bright as Greek fire, and an unmistakable blood trail dribbling from her mouth. 

He examined her again, looking for anything that could be causing this. Because people didn’t just start bleeding for no reason. And then his eyes fell on the arrow sticking out of her ankle, just above her heel.

Her Achilles’ tendon.

Jaune’s blood ran cold, but he shook it off. It was fine, just a little scratch he could handle this much. “You’re hurt! Hold on-” he patted himself down for ambrosia, nectar, for  _ anything _ that he could use to fix this. “Just give me a minute-”

“Hey-” Pyrrha tried to get his attention, but he ignored her.

“I can fix this, just hold on Pyrrha.”

“It’s okay-”

“No it’s not okay, you’re hurt, and I can’t do anything and-”

“Jaune.” His frantic rambling was cut short by one of Pyrrha’s hands closing around his own. “Look at me.”

He didn’t want to look at her, afraid that he’d start crying if he met her eyes. Dammit, his friends were  _ dying _ behind them, and Jaune was crying over Pyrrha holding his hand. What the heck was wrong with him?

“Please?” And now he did meet her eyes, because she sounded fragile in a way that he couldn’t take right now on top of everything. And she was still holding his hands in hers, but Pyrrha’s hands were shaking. So he looked at her.

And what he found broke his heart and scared him even more than the warzone he’d just wade through to find her. Because Pyrrha was crying. Crying and smiling up at him like he was the most important thing in the world.

Which was  _ wrong _ , because he wasn’t the prophecy child, Ruby was. Or Pyrrha was. Or they both were, or neither of them were. Anybody but stupid, bumbling, useless him.

“It’s okay,” she repeated, still smiling at him, and although her voice was soft, Jaune didn’t have to strain at all to hear it over the sounds of clashing bronze and fire behind him. It was like they were contained in their own little bubble, hidden away and unnoticed by the rest of the world.

“But it’s not okay.” And now his voice was shaking, and he swallowed back tears. “Pyrrha you’re-”

“Dying?” she replied, sounding vaguely amused by the whole situation, even as she coughed more blood out to land on her chestplate. “Yes I suppose I am.”

“No,  _ no _ stop that,” he insisted, scooching closer to her and glaring through the tears that definitely weren’t blurring his vision. “You’re not dying, you’re just hurt, and if just hold on a little longer-”

“I… don’t think I can,” Pyrrha repulsed simply, grimacing a little bit. “I can feel it…” She trailed off, eyes defocusing for a moment, and Jaune’s blood froze at how long it took her to come back to the present. “This was how it was meant to be.”

“No,” he swallowed thickly. “You’re wrong, you’ve gotta be, Pyrrha  _ please _ you’ve gotta be wrong.” Just this once, she had to be wrong. Pyrrha was never wrong, but please just this once.

“You’re more important to me than the world, you know that?” Another one of those sad smiles, and she leaned back heavily on the trunk of the tree. “More than the whole world, or the gods, or anything.”

Jaune couldn’t believe what he was hearing. For one because he’d seen enough movies to know that this was final words type talk, and Pyrrha was strictly  _ forbidden _ from having any final words whatsoever. But mostly, because how could he be more important to Pyrrha than the world? He wasn’t anything special, which she knew better than anyone.

His heart felt like it was rolling around in a rock tumbler, being worn away by knives and other rocks and fire. He shook his head numbly, unable to articulate any further protestations. 

“You made me believe, for just a moment, that the prophecy didn’t matter, that I could actually have a life.” She squeezed his hand, and her Greek fire eyes crinkled into a smile. “Jaune you gave me back my life.” And her voice cracked on the last word, and now they were both crying

He was dumbfounded. Whatever words he might have said died in the back of his throat. But luckily he was saved from having to think of more when Pyrrha reached one hand up and pulled him down into a kiss.

Jaune froze. His brain was going a million miles an hour, too fast for any coherent thoughts. His eyes were wide open in shock, and they stared at her for a moment before sliding closed. 

It was a clumsy kiss, too fast and awkward to be anything else. Pyrrha tasted like blood, and tears, and they were both still crying, but they fit together like two pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Made for each other. 

He felt like he was burning up, and for a moment he wondered if this was how Pyrrha lived her life all the time. A flame burning brighter than any other, destined to live life  _ more  _ than anyone else. But to be snuffed out far too soon. 

And then realized that it was because Pyrrha was burning alive with fever. Something flickered to life within him, and he could feel it. The arrow was poisoned. And the fire in Pyrrha’s veins had reached her heart.

Jaune’s eyes opened slowly, too dazed from what had just happened, and he gazed at her in wonder for a moment. Her eyes were still closed, and her grip was lax against his neck, but she leaned her forehead against his. 

“I’m sorry.”

And then Pyrrha’s hands fell away. And the flame flickered out. 

Instinctively Jaune reached out and grasped at that flame. Something tugged in his stomach and he fed every scrap of energy he could find into keeping the flame alight. Into reliting, into  _ anything _ .

Tears were streaming down his face, and his hands were glowing but he couldn’t see them, and maybe he was yelling something but he couldn’t hear anything over the pounding in his ears. The flame stayed out, and the darkness inside of Pyrrha filled her like a void.

She wasn’t warm anymore.

He leant down and pressed his ear to her chest, desperate for any kind of sign, and crumpled against her when she didn’t move and he found none. Even through the ringing, Jaune could tell that he was screaming now. Pyrrha’s head fell limply against his shoulder, her bangs covering her eyes. Eyes like Greek fire that would never shine again.

With the battle still raging behind him, Jaune laid Pyrrha gently against the tree. Now she looked like she could be sleeping, even though her chest didn’t move with breathing. 

He was more angry than he’d ever been. Angry at the Titans for killing her. Angry at the gods for being terrible parents and dragging them into this stupid war. Angry at the Fates for convincing Pyrrha that she was only good as a weapon to point at the enemy. Angry at himself for letting her down in the worst way possible.

Jaune didn’t remember much after that. Just his veins burning like the sun, rage flooding his body like a fire, and a sorrow and mind-consuming determination that this wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

He waded into the battle, tears streaming down a face that was glowing bright enough to rival the Titan still battling Ruby on the lake. Jaune fought like a maniac, paying no heed to any injury he might take from strikes that he wasn’t meeting. 

Every ally he brushed past was suddenly bursting with energy like they could fight an army. Fully replenished in a way none of them could be after fighting nonstop for days, weeks, and months straight.

Dammit, nobody else was going to die.

And then the world went dark.

Who knew how long later, Jaune woke up beside the lake and found Ren and Nora kneeling over him. Nora was rambling worriedly and excitedly before his eyes were even open. Ren helped him up and nodded in response to Jaune's thanks as he passed him a bottle of nectar.

Ruby appeared out of the side of a tree, shadow-stepping from somewhere else in the park. “Jaune! Thank the gods you’re awake,” she exclaimed, a grin splitting her exhausted face. “You’re not hurt are you?”

Jaune hesitated, and was shocked to find that he  _ wasn’t _ . He’d waded into battle without bothering to use his shield, and somehow miraculously he was uninjured? Well uninjured past a weakness in his arms and a shaking in his legs. But that was it, so what in Hades was going on.

“It was Apollo,” Ren spoke up, after a moment’s silence. When everyone looked confused, he explained. “I saw you come out of the woods, glowing like the sun.” He nodded at Jaune’s hair. “You’re still glowing, in fact.”

“I am?” Jaune glanced up, as if suddenly he’d for some reason be able to see the top of his own head. His eyes narrowed. “But what’s that got to do with my dad?”

“Your dad blessed you,” Nora clarified, rolling her eyes fondly at Ren. “Glowing hair, healing stuff, no injuries? What else could it be?”

“Healing?”

“Everyone you came in contact with during the battle was healed,” Ruby confirmed, nodding. “At least until some enemy demigod saw what was going on and clonked you on the back of the head.”

Nora shuddered slightly, and at Jaune’s questioning look said. “You dropped like a sack of potatoes. We all thought you’d died.” Ren nodded in agreement.

“Anyway,” Ruby continued, “I just got the report from Weiss, and we’ve got no serious injuries.” She opened her mouth, and then closed it again, a look of confusion darkening her silvery eyes. “But why now?”

Nora hesitated, shooting a glance towards the treeline, and some kind of understanding flickered across her face. “What happened in the woods, Jaune?”

His heart dropped out of his chest.

The world was moving in slow motion suddenly, and for a moment he was worried that Kronos was nearby. Jaune had heard about what effect the Lord of Time had on the environment, and if this wasn’t the same he’d eat his sword. Up was down and left was right and he felt like he was inside an airplane with how sick he felt.

“Jaune?!” Nora exclaimed. Jaune blinked his eyes open -when had they been closed?- and saw them all staring down at him in alarm. Darkness was blinking into his vision, but he found himself leaning against Ren, who suddenly had to hold him up as he’d pitched sideways towards the ground as all the strength left his body. “What’s wrong, what happened?!”

Jaune didn’t want to say what happened. Didn’t want to think about hair as red as the fire he could still feel pulsing through his veins like the rays of sun on a summer day. He didn’t want to think about Greek fire eyes that burned into his soul, and would never see anything ever again.

Averting his eyes, he swallowed thickly at the tears that blocked the words caught in his throat. Staring across the lake, he looked away and stared instead at the ground, finding that he couldn’t look at the trees whose fall leaves were the exact shade of Pyrrha’s hair.

He’d felt her die, he realized now. That flame had flickered out, and at the same time, in that moment of trying to fight against the Fates themselves, Jaune had unlocked something within him. 

Jaune had reached out and grabbed at Pyrrha’s very life in an attempt to keep it here on the mortal plane, and his father had blessed him for that. Finally using the latent godly power that had been passed on to him by his father, Jaune had used Apollo’s own healing to stave off death with his bare hands. And he’d damn near succeeded.

He could still feel the heartbeats of everyone in the glade. 

But one critical one was missing, and would remain missing.

“We need a shroud,” he said finally, tears barely letting the words out. His voice sounded hollow, like all the life had been stripped away leaving behind an empty shell. “A shroud for the rebirth of Achilles.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just because I have a headache doesn't mean I won't mean to you, Jaune, get fucked tall ass
> 
> Might write more of this if any of y'all have more ideas, because I've already put WAY too much thought into this AU


End file.
